Keselowski wins Kentucky in a backup car

Sparta, KY (Sports Network) - Brad Keselowski put himself in great shape to qualify for this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by winning his third race of the season on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Keselowski drove his backup car to victory in the Quaker State 400 after crashing his primary vehicle in the opening minutes of Friday's practice session at this 1.5-mile racetrack.

The Penske Racing driver gambled on fuel in the late stages and held off Kasey Kahne at the finish by 4.4 seconds. Kahne rebounded from a pit stop issue early in the race.

Denny Hamlin finished third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. All four drivers from Hendrick Motorsports finished in the top-six.

Kyle Busch, who won last year's inaugural Sprint Cup event at Kentucky, led a race-high 118 laps, but Busch scraped the wall just past the halfway point and dealt with an ill-handling car from there. He wound up finishing 10th.

Keselowski's three wins are the most in the series so far this season. He won in March at Bristol and May at Talladega.